The organic Oranges that I've been eating lately taste absolutely amazing!  Chew Your Oranges, don't drink them!  

Drinking OJ is a quick way to sabotage your health goals due to the amounts of sugar found in the juice.  It also takes more than 1 orange to make up that glass, which means extra/added sugar.  The average glass of Orange juice purchased from the grocery store contains 22-24 grams of sugar.  Note, this does not account for those brands that have more added water or 0 calorie sweeteners to make them taste good.  This is your standard Orange Juice with or without concentrate. 

The difference is, if you just eat an orange, it's a lot less sugar, and you actually feel fuller (about 7 grams to be exact).  Eating the fruit means your getting the most nutrients because you're getting the fiber which actually helps slow down how quickly the orange you ate is converted to sugar for energy consumption. Why is this important?  To keep it short and sweet, lol - your liver has to decide what to do with the food/carbohydrates that you consume, and when you don't flood your body constantly with simple carbs, it decreases the likelihood that that sugar will be stored as fat.  Your liver decides what to do with everything you eat and drink, and what's not used is stored in fat cells.  

When you chew them, you get so many of the great health benefits:

• 1 orange = 130% daily value of vitamin C - antioxidant power
  
• Soluble fiber - which is great for managing cholesterol
  
• Limonoids - studies show help prevent cancer among a host of other great things
  
• Full of potassium - potassium helps regulate the heart
  

Overwhelmed with figuring out what's good for you and what's not?  Maybe you want to shop in the regular stores and not the speciality stores you've been shopping in.  Or simply maybe you still have those favorite pants you miss wearing.  Schedule a complimentary online session with yours truly to find out how working with a Health Coach can benefit you.

Yours in Health,
Davon  

Happy New Year!!
How are you doing?  I hope that you had a memorable 2014 and are ready to start 2015!  Yesterday is in the past, tomorrow is not promised, and the present is a gift :)

I pray that all that you hope and desire for 2015 you receive.  In today's blog post, I want to share my top 4 tips for not sabotaging or ruining all of your hard work in staying healthy. Without further ado, here we go!

Tip #1: 
Stress - find a positive way to deal with or manage your stress. How do you know when you're stressed?  There are a number of signs, your mood, lack of sleep, weight gain, unexplainable aches and pains are all signs of stress. There are a few effective ways to manage stress.  Meditation, deep belly breathing, walking, massaging your ears (watch a video on how it's done here), use lavender essential oil topically and aromatically, and regular self care - I personally love doTerra Essential Oils - you can purchase lavender here if you'd like.  If we don't manage our stress, it wreaks havoc in our lives, becomes chronic, and destroys our immune system, causes weight gain, and a host of health illnesses (including cardiovascular disease).

Tip #2:
Get Organized - If you have anything that is clutter in your life, whether it's your car, your desk at work, your home, focus on getting it cleaned and organized.  Having things in order eliminates a great deal of stress and helps you think more clearly.  Don't get overwhelmed, choose 1 project at a time and focus on completing that organization project, then move to the next.  The prior project that you completed, stay on top of it by not letting the clutter accumulate in that area any longer.  This is also a good time to reflect and write out your goals, getting those written down and on paper gives them validity, life, and allows you to organize your thoughts to work towards those goals.  Organize your goals using the S.M.A.R.T (strategic/specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time based) method.  With my clients, I always want them begin with thinking of the end in mind.  If you have a really large goal, break it down into smaller, easier to manage pieces over time, that removes the stress and overwhelm with trying to reach your goal.

Tip #3:
Get Up and Move - If you aren't active at all, start with walking.  A good way to measure your activity is to get a nice quality pedometer.  Most smart phone apps do not really track your steps as well as a good pedometer does.  The target that you want to aim for is 10,000 steps daily.  Warm up a little bit, then do some stretches.  Clip your pedometer onto your body at the start of your day, take the stairs instead of the elevator, also park further away from the entrance to buildings on purpose.  If you aren't a beginner, but find that you're usually stressed, try incorporating a low impact fitness workout into your routine that do not cause additional stress - pilates, yoga, tai chi, and Piyo are a few options.

Tip #4: 
Nutrition - this is last but not least, this is ground zero, the foundation, without this critical piece nothing else matters because food influences your mood, how well you think, and feel.  Food is the fuel for your body and brain.  When you sit down at each meal, use the following quick tips to stay on track 

• Where is the protein? For women that's the size of 1 palm, for men that's the size of 2 palms. 
  
• Where are your vegetables? This should fill half of your plate.  
  
• Where are your complex carbohydrates? - these are optional, if you aren't working out and you're looking to maintain or lose weight, you may want to just double up on your servings of vegetables,  if you are active, then this should be roughly 20% or less on your plate.  
  
• Be aware of your food experience, no distracted eating
  
• Take your time to chew your food savor it, mealtime should take a good 15-20 minutes, if it's a lot shorter slow down

Struggling with getting healthy and staying on track? Maybe you're simply overwhelmed with all of the information on the internet, and talk shows and need some help with navigating to find what works for you.  Schedule a complimentary online session with yours truly to find out how working with me as your advocate Health Coach can benefit you.

Yours in Health,
Davon  

    

Think about that.  When you eat a good meal the sensations that you feel.  When the food looks good, tastes exceptional and smells amazing, it's a wonderful feeling you never want to end, am I right?

Think back to the time when you had your first kiss with someone you really wanted to kiss.  You remembered every little detail about that kiss, they way you felt, the butterflies in your stomach from being nervous and inexperienced, to the sensation of feathers dancing up and down your spine during the exploration.  You instinctively knew how and when to breathe and you wanted that feeling to never stop.  But it did and you remembered every single moment, yes?  Well for those that had a great experience I hope it was everything and more, if you didn't have such a wonderful experience, think back to one that simply felt electrifying.  

That's kind of how our relationships with food can be, and in particular what we think of as healthy food. Vegetables, fruit, lean meat or proteins.  We either have fond memories of our food experiences or memories we'd love to forget.  Our relationships with food are developed early on, from our mother giving us a snack or sweeties after school, or if we had a rough day and needed a pick me up. Some of us learned to eat to deal with feelings of hurt, frustration, insecurity and anger and we turned to some of the most addictive yet decadent treats we could find to ease the pain.  Chocolate was the go to for some, or maybe ice cream, cookies, or cake and pies.  These can be potent "drugs" that create a certain chemical reaction in the body that grant us immediate relief, no matter how temporary and guilty we felt afterwards.

Eating vegetables may have had the opposite effect, we may have felt that vegetables were tasteless globs of "stuff" on our plates.  They may have been boiled or cooked until they no longer resembled what they once were and put on our plates. No longer fresh, vibrant and crisp, but dull, watery, possibly over seasoned limp pieces of mush that no longer had structure.  Or how about fruit from a can or cup that is soaked in some type of syrup?  There's no skin to peel, or bright vibrant color but it all looks about the same, its mushy and all tastes the same, you can't tell peaches from pears in that stuff.  

That stuff isn't fruit or vegetables, it's been altered so much that any good stuff you were looking to get out of eating it no longer exists or is the water that the broccoli was boiled to death in.  

So what makes food a pleasurable experience?  It's got to have the characteristics below:

1. Fresh - when it's out of a box/can/jar, it doesn't taste as good as the fresh version
   
2. Texture - it's gotta be just right
   
3. Smell
   
4. Look 
   
5. TASTE! - Don't over salt and use herbs to help enhance the flavor of your food

All Food Should Taste, Look, and Feel Almost as Good as that Special Treat, but how?
Here are a few ways to do that:

1. Create a better dinner/food experience by using the "good dishes" - don't wait for special occasions to use the china - use it now, besides you can't take it with you when you're gone
2. Unplug from electronics, TV, and distractions - make at least one meal per day with your loved ones without cell phones, social media, or TV.  Relaxing background music is ok, mealtime with loved ones is a great way to catch up on what's going on with everyone else and allows you to fully experience all that food has to offer: smell, taste, CHEW and appreciate your meal
3. Use cooking techniques that are simple, uncomplicated and allow you to taste the food without hiding it in a bunch of sauces, or condiments (try water saute, steaming, and roasting).
4. Place condiments to the side and don't season the entire dish using condiments, this allows picky eaters to add what they like at the table and allows your food to be versatile enough to use any leftovers for future meals.  I like the Cook Once, Eat Twice Method.

Use the tips above and practice, practice, practice - you will not be disappointed and you'll also find that you'll feel better about how you're eating.  

Share your best or not so best food experience in the comments below.  I'd love to hear about it!

xoxo,

Davon

"Anna Mae"  I won't go all "Ike" on you for not drinking your water, but you should at least Eat it.
You've heard it all, drink 8 cups per day, drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces etc.  Those recommendations don't count the water you get from solid food.  

20% of your daily hydration comes from food.   So it's good to make it count.  

A good rule of thumb is 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water daily.  If you struggle with drinking the necessary water, try eating more of your water by eating some of these - they all contain 90% or greater water content.  BONUS, they won't make you fat like cake will either. 

Like what you're reading?  Which of these are your favorites to eat? Share and or leave a comment below.